Doing Summer in the Winter

In Dallas/Forth Worth Airport waiting to connect to Cancun, Mexico. Duffle Bag by Yellow Stone| Lightly Striped Pants by Express|Grey Long Sleeve T-Shirt by American Apparel| Blue Button Down by Gap| Drivers not pictured by Born Lynch|

Indeed summer did come a bit early for me and my wife this year. We took a trip to Cancun, Mexico and stayed at ME by Melia for the past week and all I can say is that “we never wanted to leave”. I bet you may be wondering from looking at this picture why I have on so much clothing if I am bound for sunny & hot Mexico. The reason for all of the clothes is because I was leaving from Philadelphia International Airport where the temperature was a cold 25 degrees with ice falling from the sky.

Here are a couple of my tips for traveling from cold to warm weather:

Dress in light layers. This will help you keep in some warmth in the cold weather and will be easy to manage as your move across temperatures. You can remove clothes as needed and be warm weather ready without breaking a serious sweat.

Go for breathable materials that will move with you on the plane. There is nothing like being on a flight for 6 hours in a stuffy pair of jeans that will make you move all over the place.

Bring one unstructured blazer. This will offer you some casual dressed up looks that you may have been dying to try, plus you can give it your lady if she is cold at night while you stroll the beach. Of course it will get some wrinkles in it, particularly in the sleeve from rolling them up and travel but that is okay.

Shorts by H&M| Shoes by Born Lynch Crown Series

Like I mentioned earlier you may want to try a look with an unstructured blazer that you may not have tried back at home with shorts or other bottoms. This outfit was from the 1st night in Cancun and we having an outdoor dinner right off of the water. Don’t worry about getting wrinkled on a vacation especially if it somewhere warm. More than likely as soon as you get outside and a little bit of humidity hits your clothes those wrinkles will fall right out and you will never remember them. I mentioned bringing an unstructured cotton blazer with you because they travel well, are better for rolling up the sleeves and will be a good layer to throw on when you have to make that dreadful trip back to cold weather.

If you are taking a trip to a “tropical” climate this is a time to leave your denim and you hard sole shoes at home. Don’t worry all of your heavier clothes will be waiting for you when you get back. For this trip I brought 4 pairs of cotton chino pants with me to wear to dinner or breakfast depending on how the weather was early in day. Now, you will want to roll up your pants some to your personally desired height about your shoes to show some ankle and still give off the warm weather vibe. As for wearing a tank top there are a few rules;

Do not wear an athletic t-shirt (wife beater). The reason for this rule is that you will look like a fool and secondly they are undershirts. Find a unribbed tank and possible in a striped or solid pattern. As you can see by pairing the tank with a navy chino you will get a very classic nautical look.

Your tank does not have to be super tight on you. Of course you want it to fit well especially if you have work very hard at sculpting your body.

Checked Pattern Swim Suit by H&MHawaiian Pattern Swimsuit by H&M

When it’s time to hit the pool or beach, unless you are going to be surfing, under the age of 21 or just generally pretty self-conscious about your body, opt for a shorter bathing suit. As someone who has taken care of their body you should show off what you got. As proper suit should fall anywhere from mid-quad to just above your knees. Take a look at the life guards on the beach, their red swimsuit trunks are usual around mid-quad. Understandably, you do not want you trunks so short or tight that everyone is looking at your junk, but a more form-fitting trunk will flatter your body. Please, do not feel the need to stick with solid colored or random beer brand drunks you got at a beach novelty shop, grab a few patterned trunks to give you suit a little bit of style.

Last but not least, get some sun screen. Yes, I know people maybe reading thinking, “but you’re Black, why do you need sunscreen?” It is a fair question and the answer is everyone can burn from the sun. I learned my lesson a few years ago when my nose, back, and forehead were crispy and peeling after visiting Virginia beach.

It was a blast spending a week of winter in Mexico away from the ice, snow and cold of Philadelphia and now it’s back to reality.

Founder & Creative Director

Founder & Creative Director of Men's Style Pro, Sabir has a deep passion for menswear and all things manly. Selected as one of the "5 Best Dressed Men In America" by Esquire Magazine in 2010 & as #GQFall 2013 Best Dressed Man. As of 2014, Sabir serves as a freelance brand ambassador & executive stylist for GQ Magazine & GQ Report. Outside of that partnership, Sabir serves as an independent brand consultant as well.
Reach me directly at SABIR@MENSSTYLEPRO.COM